Ubuntu's Laptop Killing Bug Fixed

jeevesbond writes "Back in October of 2007 we discussed a bug that would dramatically shorten the life of laptops using Ubuntu. Ubuntu users will be glad to know that a fix has finally been released for Ubuntu versions 9.04, 8.10 and 8.04 (LTS). However, as this fix is not yet in the update repositories, anyone wishing to test it should follow these instructions for enabling the 'proposed' repository. Report your results on the original bug report. Happy testing!"

Comments

As per "Flamebait Story"

[Creepy Crawler]

Well, one can squarely blame the HD manufacturers (look at the Seagate disaster) and say they need to fix their hardware.

However, when your stuff doesnt work, regardless who's fault it is, it's still broken. And in cases like Ubuntu vs Windows: it'll work in Windows and not work in Ubuntu. Who do you think the user will fault?

ObUserStory: I bought a T61 Thinkpad. Worked fine in Windows, and not so well in Ubuntu. What didnt work? The right side USB ports. If I was a regular user, I'd remove Ubuntu and put Windows back on. However, Im stubborn... and know that Linux shouldnt go disabling ports at seemingly random. Turns out, it was a ACPI bios bug that did so :( So a BIOS update did the trick and fixed everything.

So yes, it may be a manufacturers fault, but that's not where the blame gets placed all the time..

Re:As per "Flamebait Story"

[friedman101]

I never begrudged Ubuntu (or Linux in general) for having a bug related to a problem that was largely the fault of the hardware manufacturer. What did piss me off, however, was the fact that a bug that affected most new laptops and threatened to shorten their lifetimes dramatically wasn't plastered all over ubuntu.com in huge red font. We'd have never given Microsoft this much leeway.

Re:As per "Flamebait Story"

[Creepy Crawler]

As per defense of Ubuntu and others, the e1000 module was blacklisted until a proper kernel patch could be applied to all versions.

Without the blacklist, the e1000 firmware could be overwritten. Intel provided no safeguards to prevent said occurrence, so destruction of hardware was imminent. Far as I can tell, the Windows driver still has this bug.

And I remember the Mandrake CD-drive killer sequence. Samne damn problem: unguarded firmware update commands. Instead, these commands are legit commands, but were re-used as a firmware update.

Now, how much of these drive killer and card killer commands are also on Windows, but we suspect them as other occurrences, like ESD, lightning, or power surges?

Re:As per "Flamebait Story"

[Creepy Crawler]

Wrong.

When using Windows as an example, the developers do not understand how Windows works. They only can understand by extensive testing in their labs. Linux, on the other hand, can identify what piece of code the offense is made, and fix it.

The collection of bugs in Windows makes it that much harder when there's a bluescreen, general hardware crash, or other really bad things. As far as we know, these bugs that exist in Ubuntu, Mandrake and others still exist as some sort of weird failure domain of certain celestial events on Windows. When they happen, there's hundreds of environmental variables set to trigger the device_killer.

hmm.

[buddyglass]

Does it bother anyone that Ubuntu, the community's duly annointed challenger to Microsoft hegemony, had an outstanding bug for fourteen months whose effect was to damage hardware? That's pretty terrible.

Re:Only for who think the world has to be perfect

[laddiebuck]

Obviously. But the story's still flamebait. Want a non-flamebait title? "Ubuntu Workaround for Laptop-Killing BIOS Bug Released". See the difference? Subtle but important.